Day by day in 12
by AurorQuill17
Summary: Katniss & Peeta won the games, the rebellion was crushed and the Quarter Quell did not reap Victors. How does Gale move through life in 12, stuck working in the mines, feeding his siblings and feeling inferior to the best friend he always thought would be with him until the end. Will he find joy in his life? And more importantly, will he find love? A slow burn Gadge.
1. Chapter 1- Gale

I try to focus on the positives. I'm luckier than most in the Seam, I know that. I do. It's just hard to feel so powerless every day and to know it's true.

My family is better off than ever before but it's not down to me, no matter how I try I can never do enough. Ever since I was 14 years old I've risked my life hunting in the woods surrounding the district to feed my family but it was never enough, we all survived, but barely at times.

Now I'm working in the mines Katniss hunts for us and I only head out to the woods on a Sunday, what was once my family's lifeline has become mine alone. I sneak under the fence before daybreak to watch the sunrise, hunt, gather, stretch my muscles, and feel free.

It's still hard to take the food from Katniss, I fought with my mother when I found out she was accepting it, feels too much like charity. I know that we need it, I know that I would do the same if our positions were switched, I know that Katniss feels like she owes me for feeding her mum and Prim while she was in the games but it still stings.

The whistle marking the end of the work day shakes me from my thoughts and I feel the scowl on my face relax.

I dump my coal in the lot and elbow my way to the front of the lift queue, earning grumbles from my colleagues but I don't pay attention to them, just desperate to see the sun again. I'm selfish, I know that, I'm not the only one here to have lost a loved one in these mines but I need out. If they were as affected by being down here they would shove too, right?

As I grow closer to the surface, my thoughts grow more positive, I'm luckier than most in the seam. Risky childhood aside, I now have a salary to support my family, we have meat brought to us every day, parcel days are over as Katniss and Peeta won the games more than a year ago but we still have some treats saved from the parcels, Rory hasn't taken out any tesserae, all the kids are looking healthier every day, I go to the woods every week. Things have changed, sure, but life always does.

I take in a few gulps of fresher air (no air in the seam can ever seem fresh when you've been in the woods) and set off on the walk home, I need to figure out a way to stay positive in the mines, the repetitive motion, chipping away, doesn't need much concentration so my mind is free to wander and dwell. Maybe I'll try to make up some bedtime stories for Posy tomorrow, keep my mind busy. As I walk in the house and turn to hang up my gear I notice Katniss sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, she must have been persuaded to stay by mum.

"Hey" I say, grabbing the chair across from her. Katniss just gives me a small smile and returns to staring into her cup. I know the victory tour is coming up in a few weeks, any reminder of the games will always be tough for her. Maybe it will get better with time but this is the first tour since her own, the first time she will have to be in the same place as the families of last year's tributes and the reason they didn't come home. I won't ever say anything to her but I'm thankful that it was a Quarter Quell last year, only 18 year olds were included in the reaping, that meant Rory skipped a year and Katniss didn't have to try to save a quivering 12 year old only to fail.

I fidget a bit before I heave myself to my feet to pour some tea, I can smell the mint from the pot and something meaty on the stove, I lift the lid from the pan to stir the contents. Mum must have put on a soup to be ready when they get back from the school, Posy has a visit tonight and mum took Rory and Vick along as they had been misbehaving so she said they could not be trusted to be home alone. I turn to Katniss and ask "Staying for dinner?"

She looks up and nods before grabbing a bag from the chair next to her and handing it to me, I look inside and scowl before I grunt a "thanks". It's bakery bread. I accept the meat because I know she'd be catching it anyway but I still don't like taking anything from Peeta. Katniss knows me too well though and after I refused the first few loaves of bread she started giving the bread straight to Posy or Vick, knowing I couldn't refuse their little faces smiling at me.

"He's not a terrible person you know." I look up startled, I have no idea who she is talking about. She must see my bewildered expression as she explains "Wonder Boyce". I frown as she mentions the victor's name.

Things are getting better with me and Katniss, it's been a whole year since I kissed her just before her victory tour. Then she returned and did something completely unexpected, she talked to me. She told me of horrible crackdowns in other districts, public executions, conditions worsening and the truth about victors. How everyone she meets seems broken, I think there's something else there but I guess it's not her place to give me details of other people's lives. She also returned engaged to Peeta, I was devastated but she explained about the threats from President Snow and told me in no uncertain terms that nothing would happen with us. As far as she is concerned we are cousins, as was spread around the Capitol while she was in the games.

That firm "no" was the best thing I could have heard from her, it allowed me to accept that she was with Peeta and start to get over it. It took some time though and things are still a little awkward. Although I want to shout at her for any kind words about a career I do know that she knows so much more about the Games than I ever will so I give her a chance to explain.

"How so?"

She sighs and sinks further into her chair before answering, "They're not given a choice about training, in One. Apparently the parents choose to send them or not, every career from One has been sent to the games by their family".

My frown deepens as I think about her words and consider if this changes how I feel. "That's sick, but I'll always hate them. We lose children every year to them, I remember the moment Wonder plunged his sword through the heart of the blind boy from Nine during the bloodbath. He smiled."

"He was just playing the game. Sponsors."

I sigh and lean back in my chair, running my fingers through my hair "It would be different if we could train too, I just think of Vick, in six months facing a v… career" Katniss gives me a sharp look at my near slip, she volunteered for the games to save Prim and doesn't like it when anyone mixes up volunteers and careers. "How do you know all of this anyway?"

"Talking to the other Victors" she replies, "there's not much to do in the Capitol after…" she trails off and I finish her sentence silently "after both our tributes die".

I check the old clock and get up to start setting the table for when my family gets home, Katniss joins me in silence. We're both lost in thought as Rory comes barrelling through the door.


	2. Chapter 2- Madge

I stare out of the window of the stuffy classroom, there's not a great view but that's common in Twelve. I should be concentrating on the lesson but I don't see the point, there's only a few weeks of school left and since my father has got me a government job working in the Justice Building I don't need to prove my worth through good test scores.

I sigh lightly and let my mind wander to the changes I will see in my life once I graduate and start my new job. I will move out of my father's mansion and into the house I have been assigned to in town, it is common in Twelve to live with your parents until you marry, in town because you are training to take over the family business and in the Seam because it is easier to have as many salaries in one house as possible. Although it is uncommon, every person in the district is entitled to a housing assignment once they reach 18 and I jumped at the chance.

Most people would call me crazy for leaving the luxury of my father's home before I have to, with the two servants we have (hardly necessary with only three of us living there but my father likes to provide the work to people who may starve otherwise), lots of space, and my father providing almost anything I could want. But they don't know the truth, living in the mayor's house means you are always being watched, there is no privacy, either from the Capitol bugs or the Capitol 'guests' we are required to house from time to time. I do overhear information that is kept from most citizens of the district occasionally, through the thin walls of my father's office or the loose lips of drunken Capitolites but it's not worth staying for, it's not like I can do anything with the information and it just makes me angry most of the time.

My friend Katniss is one of the only people who understands my desire to leave, we are pretty sure that her home in the Victor's Village is bugged too but there is no escape for her. She will live there until she dies and Peeta will move in once the President decides to set them a wedding date. The lack of control she has over her life makes her envy me and my relative freedom so I've been sure to let her know that she will be welcome at my place whenever she needs a break.

I will soon have less but so much more, I'm sure I'm going to hate working for the Capitol but at least at the low level I will no longer have to associate with the people from there with their maddening ignorance. A 9 to 5 job is the best I could have ever hoped for in this district, the same hours as school has been so I will have the same amount of free time to spend on my hobbies, I can visit my mother, play my father's piano, and head into the woods with Katniss when she invites me. I will have my own money to spend and will not have to worry about being the prim and proper mayor's daughter. I will be able to be myself.

I drag myself to my feet as the bell rings and decide to head to a few shops before I go home, the arrangements are being made for the victory tour and the party to be held at our house so I want to avoid it as much as possible. Every reminder of the Hunger Games sends a chill through me, how I still have one reaping to survive. I am an adult, I will be working and living alone but I will still have to stand in the roped off square praying that my name is not called. Even though I have fewer slips than most I could still be chosen.

I distract myself from these thoughts by browsing in the small grocery shop before buying an apple to eat on the way home. It's a bit tart and that's exactly the way I like it. I arrive home to my father sitting in the kitchen reading a Capitol newspaper, I sit beside him and the butler brings me a cup of tea and a small plate of biscuits. As I begin to nibble at the snack my father folds the newspaper and smiles at me before asking "how was your day?"

"The usual" I reply, sipping at my tea. "Not many people are paying attention now we're so close to leaving for good. How was work?"

"Nothing major, just the victory tour preparations at the moment. Valerie's busy preparing the guest rooms now. I did bring something home with me though." He smiles and I lift an eyebrow in question.

He takes a roll from his bag and passes it over. "It's the plans of your house, I finally got word of which had been assigned to you."

"Wow" I say, looking over the plans, "it's really happening."

He picks his newspaper up as I examine the plans more closely, it looks larger than a lot of the houses in town, I guess the person in charge of the assignments saw my surname and wanted to keep my father sweet.

I excuse myself from the table and head upstairs to find Valerie, she has been showing me how to take care of household tasks now that I will be living alone. She's ironing the sheets for the guest rooms when I find her, a task that is only done for Capitol visitors so I don't need to learn. I sit with her instead and we chat about the planned party.

"It will be small again this year, with the focus been on One" I say carefully, I hate censoring myself in this house. What I want to say is "thank goodness it will be small, now the Katniss and Peeta buzz is wearing off most Capitolites will be unwilling to come to Twelve so we won't have to put up with as many."

"Yes, but we still have the usuals" Valerie replies, not looking up from her work.

I sigh noncommittally, some return every year, liking to support the underdog but they are the worst. They feel an ownership over everything in the district because of their meagre sponsorship for our tributes and it definitely shows in their interactions with me. I have learned to extract myself from the worst conversations with a giggle hiding my disgust and my father installed a lock on my bedroom door after a particularly bad year when an old man with purple hair and eyes tried to crawl into my bed. I was fourteen years old.

I check my watch and head downstairs knowing that dinner will be served any minute, I'll sit with my mother for a while later in the evening then head to bed.

The usual.


	3. Chapter 3- Gale

We gather round the table to eat as soon as everyone gets in the house, it's always a long day in the seam so there's never any delay in dinner. There's never a dull moment in my house either, between Rory and Posy, someone's always got something to say. Tonight Posy's chattering away about the visit and how excited she is to start in school. She's such a sociable girl it'll be good for her to get out of the house and be around kids her own age even though I think school is a waste of time in this district, who needs lessons on coal or the Capitol propaganda that they pass off as 'history' lessons?

Rory suddenly interrupts "She was making friends with townies, typical Poss!" laughing loudly.

Both Katniss and Posy frown deeply with Posy turning pink and snapping "they liked my dress! They were nice to me."

"Not for long." Rory replies with a grin, "they were probably just making fun of you but you were too dumb to notice."

I grit my teeth and keep quiet on the subject, staring at my bowl to avoid eye contact with anyone. It's difficult for me to disagree with Rory and I know a lot of his prejudice he got from me and my rants as we grew up. I'll freely admit that it's partially jealousy, as much as Katniss tries to sell me on Peeta's tough childhood, eating stale bread is nothing compared to starving and townies have easier lives than us in the seam. It's just a fact. I could probably get over the jealousy if it wasn't for the attitude that seemed inherent in most of the folk from town, as if they are worth more than us because they were lucky enough to be born into the life they have. Peeta is good to Katniss, is very non- judgemental and alright to chat when he's around but a few exceptions doesn't mean that I have to like the people who look down on me.

"Enough, Rory" my mum's voice rang out quickly silencing him. "Take no notice of your brother Posy, be nice to everyone especially anyone who is nice to you and you'll have friends in no time."

We chat about our days as we finish the meal, the bakery bread making sure everyone is full, and once we're done mum sets the boys on clean up. I move towards the threadbare couch, exhausted from the exertion of the day, all I want to do is sit and listen to my family surround me before I collapse into bed later this evening. Posy climbs up next to me and starts to play with her doll and I smile, knowing that everything I do is so she can have it easier than I did.

Katniss says goodbye and has a word with mum before she heads home, it's probably to do with her hunting for us, she knows I don't like to talk about it and mum knows what we need better than I do anyway.

I stretch my aching muscles and think of the woods, where Katniss will be tomorrow and I'll finally be on Sunday, I'm thinking of taking the whole afternoon to gather plants and berries, we've had good rainfall this year so there's plenty growing and the kids could use some variation. Rory's been nagging me to take him out and teach him to hunt but I'm reluctant. Every time I cross the fence I risk being shot for it and that's not something that I ever wanted Rory to go through. Especially now that we don't risk starvation in the winter with my salary and Katniss hunting full time, having extra would be nice, we could always use something more but I just can't bring myself to let him take the chance.

I've talked it through with Katniss and she thinks that I should take him out as he's so headstrong that he'll probably try to go without me if I don't soon and it would be much safer for him to be with me. She tried to argue that he might need the skills once he starts a family of his own and needs to provide for them but I cut her off and refused to let her go there. He's thirteen for goodness sake!

I sigh as I realise that she had a fair point with that and decide to talk it through with mum at some point the week, she always knows the best thing to do.

Vick and Rory have been playing cards at the table since they finished cleaning up and I'm tempted to join them for half an hour before bed. I'm exhausted but I want to spend as much time with them as I can. I picked up the cards in the hob for that purpose, Thom had a set growing up and has been teaching me games to teach the boys. Vick especially loves it, he picks the games up incredibly easily and has beaten Thom at poker, his speciality, a couple of times already.

I scoop up the cards from the table and grin down at the boys before taking a seat and starting to deal for rummy. I share a smile with Vick when Rory grumbles when his needed cards are taken or covered, seemingly unaware that he's giving us his strategy and making it that much easier to beat him. After a few rounds of losing, Rory throws his cards on the table, declares us cheaters and stomps off to bed. I decide to follow him, stomping off means you want to be alone but in the seam you never get privacy really and I do need to get to bed before I drop off to sleep at the table. One day I hope to have my own house and a big family, sharing a room with a woman that I love but until then I'm stuck with two other smelly teenage boys and Rory can't sulk alone.

He'll get over it.


	4. Chapter 4- Madge

I take a final look over my list making sure that everything I need is packed. Today is the day I leave home. Leave my mother and father and begin to fend for myself. Luckily, I have a week before I start working so I can settle in to my new home and get used to being alone.

I need help moving my possessions across the town, mostly, when people move into a new home in Twelve it is as a result of marriage so the couple's families will help to carry the few boxes that they may have as a wedding favour. Since I'm nowhere near married and my family consists of a severely disabled mother and a father who is one of the few people in Twelve that has always had a desk job, I asked Katniss if she knew anyone in need of some extra coins. Obviously, almost everyone in Twelve could do with extra money but people seem to think that I look down on them and I didn't want to offend anyone by asking, I want to start my new life on a positive note.

Katniss arrives with three kids chatting loudly. I recognise them through the window as the younger Hawthorne siblings and hurry to open the door for them. I'm a bit peeved that they are literally children, the oldest can't be more than 13 years' old, and I have a fair few boxes to carry over.

I usher everyone into the dining room and offer them a seat.

"Can I make anyone a cup of tea? I need to head to the Justice Building to sign for the keys before we start."

I'm met with silence as the kids are looking about the room with awe.

Katniss smiles at me "Let's make a pot for everyone."

We wander through to the kitchen and I put the kettle on.

"Sorry they're a bit overwhelmed by the house, mine intimidates them still, they'll come round in a minute."

"No problem, I understand" I really did, most visitors from within Twelve reacted in the same way. "Should I put out some biscuits?"

"That'd be great thanks."

Katniss pours the tea as I grab the tin and put a few biscuits on a plate.

We carry everything through to the kids and I see that Katniss was right, they have gotten over the awe at the house and are chatting amongst themselves.

"Madge, this is Vick, Rory and Posy" says Katniss, pointing as she spoke "and kids this is Madge."

The boys smile at me before returning to their conversation and Posy pipes up "Hi Madge, I like your shirt." My shirt is an older one that I have thrown on with some trousers for the move but it still looks much smarter than what most people in twelve can afford.

"Thanks Posy"

I turn to Katniss, "I'll just run and get the keys, you guys can stay here and entertain yourselves, I shouldn't be more than half an hour."

The trip to the justice building was uneventful, the clerk let me skip the queue as he recognised me as the mayor's daughter, I didn't want the preferential treatment and dirty looks that went along with it but I can never bring myself to make a fuss and disrupt people any more.

I hurry up the stairs to what is officially no longer my home and let myself in to the sounds of someone clumsily playing my piano from the lounge.

As I enter the lounge I see Katniss sat at the piano taping at the keys with Posy sat next to her on the bench watching intently. It's always nice to see this side of Katniss, she prefers to sit and listen to me play usually but around children she softens so much and is clearly putty in this little girl's hands.

Of course with her hunters ears she heard me come in so she stands and rallies the kids, "Come on guys, follow Madge and she'll show you what needs moving."

I lead the way up to my room and show the boxes that need moving, the boys and Katniss grab a box each and Posy pipes up with "What can I carry?", she has a point. Most of my boxes are a very similar size to her. I look around and grab the pillows off of my bed, "Here you go, be careful not to drop them in the street."

"I promise!"

I smile as I grab a box and lead the way out of the house. It's not too far to my new house as it's still in town but I make sure to walk slowly so everyone can keep up, I feel bad for Vick as he grabbed the box full of my books and looks to be struggling a bit but I don't have the hands to help.

I smile to myself as we approach the house. It's mine. I'm free.

I have to put down my box to unlock the door and Rory balances his on top before lifting them both into the house. "Thanks Rory". I guess it's not a problem that they're kids after all.

The door opens straight into the sparsely furnished lounge, there are two doors leading out if the room, the kitchen to the right and the bathroom to the left if I remember the plans right, and a staircase to the back leading up to the bedrooms.

"Just leave everything in here, we can bring the kitchen box next and have another cup of tea after that trip". I'm itching to have a look around so that break will be perfect for me.

The kids decide to race back— Katniss and I meander slowly after them chatting.

"How does it feel? Leaving your family?"

"Not too bad, the positives are too good for me to feel guilty. And I'll be back often enough to keep my mum company."

"I don't know if I'll be able to do it." Katniss speaks so quietly I barely hear it.

"What?"

"Letting Prim and my mum move back to the seam."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been made very clear to me that after the wedding Peeta and I will be expected to live alone."

I stop walking and turn to face her. "Oh Katniss, I'm sorry." At this point I'm not surprised when Snow kicks Katniss even further down. "You'll be able to fix up their house though, and they'll still never go hungry. It's horrible but try to focus on what you can do for them rather than what you can't do."

"I know, I'll just miss Prim so much."

We reach the kids sitting on the steps and our conversation ends as I let us in to finish the move.

Everything went well with the move, I have a pile of boxes in my living room, there was one point that Vick and Rory were wrestling in the street over who was carrying the most but Katniss assured me that that was perfectly normal for the boys. We head back to my father's house so I can have a look around to make sure that I have everything.

"Okay kids, when Madge pays you make sure to give me the coins before you go home so I can pick up the materials at the hob".

I turn to Katniss with a question written on my face.

"They have a leak in the roof, I'm going to pick up the materials while Gale is at work so he can fix it when he gets home."

Katniss' choice of helpers for me suddenly makes perfect sense, I know how she feels about the Hawthorne's and that Gale has had some difficulty accepting help from Katniss now she is a victor and engaged to Peeta.

I hate the thought of children working a full day and having to hand all of the money over to household repairs but I know this is the reality for most of the people in the district but it stings. They're just kids.

As we arrive home and I grab the bags of money to pay them I start to speak without thinking it through. "As a thank you for getting the job done much faster than I planned, can I give you a gift as extra? I don't have any more coins out."

The kids look shocked for a minute then all nod eagerly as Katniss shoots me a wary look.

I know it's probably a bad idea but I can't take it back now I've offered and seen their smiles. I lead them upstairs and root around in the closet of my room for something I left behind that I have a feeling that the boys will like.

"Aha, here we go. Boys, this is for you. A game of darts, you aim these at this board and collect points when it hits certain places." I'm a little worried at giving a box full of sharp and sturdy darts to two young boys but from what I've heard of their mother she'll make sure they play safely and I think that it will appeal to the competitive spirit I've seen in them today.

"And Posy, I haven't forgotten you, I thought you'd like to look at the dresses I have in the loft from when I was your size so you can pick one for yourself."

Posy gasps excitedly "yes please!"

"Follow me then."

I pull the cord to let the ladder down then let Posy clamber up before me so I can catch her if she slips. I flick the switch to turn the light on in the loft and peer around for the trunks with my old clothes locating them in a far corner of the room "There they are Posy". She grins up at me and we make our way across the room, stirring up dust as we go but since we're sweaty from moving around all day I'm not too bothered.

I find the box from when I was four, I think Posy is older than that but kids from the Seam are always smaller as there is less food available for them.

I let her root around looking at every dress carefully and let myself enjoy being the cause of her smile.

I gasp as I see the one she picks out, it's a lilac, mid-calf length dress with lace at the neckline and sleeves. It was something I wore to school but would be the nicest thing a girl from the Seam would own. The problem is that it was my mother's when she was young.

My hand me downs from my mother mean a lot to me as she can tell me stories about them, since she's so ill we can't talk much about her life now so all we have is my life and her past. The stories of her and Maysilee growing up in the sweetshop, it's left the family now, the sweetshop, both my grandparents died when I was younger and with my mother so ill another family took over. I don't mind though, a job in the Justice Building will probably be better for me as the demand in Twelve for sweets is so low as so few people have money to spare on frivolities like that.

I'm jolted out of my thoughts by Posy sneezing loudly from the dust and can't help but giggle at the look of shock on her face. "That's perfect for you Posy" I decide out loud. I decide that I'd rather see the dress around the district now than have it stuck gathering dust up here.

We head down to the kitchen to meet Katniss and the boys and as we say goodbye I find myself enveloped in a group hug for the first time ever. "Thanks Madge" Rory says "you'll have to come and have a game with us one day."

"That sounds wonderful, Rory." It really does.

I say goodbye to Katniss and settle dawn at the kitchen table, I promised my father I'd stay for diner this first night. But for now I'm alone. Again.


	5. Chapter 5- Gale

I've had a long day, although every day feels long these days, I think it's been particularly bad today because I know when I get home I have to fix our leaky ceiling so I can't rest. Katniss is picking up the materials I need, she found some work for the kids to make up the rest of the money needed on top of the meagre savings I've scraped together.

Times like this really get to me because I know I'd never be able to fix the leak properly if it wasn't for Katniss hunting for us. Without her, every penny I earned would be spent putting food on the table for my family and we'd have to make do with the cheapest patch job that we could find and the kids would grow up in a place that was constantly cold and damp. I should be able to provide this without help.

I should be enough.

I try to shake off these feelings and be glad of the help, I'm sick of feeling this way and wish I could just accept my life the way it is.

I can hear laughter before I open the door, it sounds like my family is having a wonderful time. I wander in to see them standing in a line watching mum throw something at a board on the wall and Posy cheers as it hits.

"What's going on guys?" I ask.

"Me and Vick are thrashing Mum and Posy at darts" Rory explains grinning widely.

"And darts is?"

"It's this awesome game, you take turns to throw these darts into the board and get a score from where you hit. See how the sections have numbers inside?" Vick points out.

I shoot mum a questioning look and she smiles and shakes her head in a way that I know to mean that we'll talk about this later. "Why don't you join in sweetie? You have such good aim that I'm sure you'll do well without a team."

"I need to get the roof done first."

"Don't be silly, it doesn't look like rain today and you should have some fun with us." I can't argue with mum when she's in a good mood like this so I move to have a look at the game so I can figure out how to play.

We have a great game, mum was right, I've got great aim so wipe the floor with everyone but I'm majorly surprised by how good Vick is, it seems that he's not just the smarty pants we've always assumed.

"Hey, mum." I nod at Posy who's fallen asleep on the couch and she scoops her up and carries her to their room to put her to bed.

I send the boys off to bed as well and put some water on to boil so I can make some tea.

Mum sits with me a while later and grabs her tea gratefully.

"Katniss put the material for the roof out back."

"Okay, I'll get on that tomorrow when I get back, hopefully I'll manage something that'll last a while this time."

She sighs softly and I know I'm not going to enjoy what comes next.

"The dartboard."

"Yes?"

"Katniss' friend, the mayors' daughter, she moved house today and needed help so she paid the kids to carry boxes across town and the boys said she gave them the game as a thank you for finishing so quickly."

My whole body tenses. I'm furious. This is charity. How dare she think that I can't give them what they need.

"Gale! Calm down." Mum admonishes, clearly seeing the fury etched in my face. "They worked hard all day and she knew any money would go straight to the family. I'm sure she just wanted to be kind."

"Kind?" I hiss through my clenched teeth, "it's kind of her to humiliate me this way?"

"What exactly do you plan to do about it Gale?" mum snaps, "do you want to go in there and tell them that you're taking away something that they earned?"

"Earned? If they worked, she paid them. So, what's this? It's obvious she looks down on us, giving us her cast offs as if I can't provide for them."

"It's nice for them to have something they know that they earned. You work so hard for this family son and Rory's about the age you were when you started. You can take pride in yourself every time you see food on our table, they have something that they can see and be proud of now. Let them have this." Mum implores, almost begging me to calm down.

"It's not easy for me either Gale."

That brings me up short and I look up surprised, "what?"

"Where do you think you got your values from son? I hate that I can't give you kids everything you want and I've had to depend on my son just to feed my other children. Then I see them having more fun today than I can remember and it's on the whim of a girl from the town I've never spoken to." She says quietly.

The room's silent for a while I really think about what she said, I feel like an idiot that I've never considered that my mum would feel the same way I do. Helpless.

"It's really hard" I speak up finally.

"I know son, we've struggled these last few years and now things are as good as we could hope them to be with you earning and you and Katniss hunting but it's horrid to think what could happen in the future. I look at the families around us and see us in their hollow cheeks. You're old enough to remember your father and the better times we had but the kids aren't. I just want them to have a childhood."

I look her in the eye and nod shortly before getting up and heading to bed. I'm not sure I'll sleep with everything mum's given me to think about but since I need to hunt tomorrow I need to try.

As soon as I get past the fence I feel myself lighten, my mood lifts and I feel a significant amount of the tension I carry leave my shoulders. I'm earlier than I usually am these days so I can spend some time alone before Katniss arrives and just think.

I decided last night not to make a fuss over the dartboard, for mum and the kids, but I can't make myself be happy with the decision, I get annoyed just thinking about it. Katniss mostly deals with the mayors' daughter and the strawberries these days as they're friends so it won't be hard to avoid her, I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself if she ever mentioned it to me.

I've been walking the snare line as I've been thinking but have a disappointing haul, one of my traps had fallen so the rabbit I had caught had been mangled by another animal and was unsellable which didn't help my mood.

As I get to our usual meeting point, Katniss materialises through the trees with our bows and sits in the grass. She wordlessly holds a roll out to me and waits for me to join her and take it before she starts her own.

"I'm sorry" she says quietly, "I didn't know how to stop her".

"I don't want to talk about it" I reply sharply, though I'm glad she brought it up, it's nice to see the parts of Katniss that haven't changed and to know she still understands me.

"I'm going to bring Rory and teach him to hunt in the spring" I tell her, "winter's tough enough to get enough game without taking time out to teach."

Katniss nods slowly before replying, "I could take him out some evenings, so he'll learn faster."

I smile and nod, glad she'd offering to help in a way that's not money, today I need to feel this familiar camaraderie. Bringing Rory to the woods means that my time with Katniss will lessen further, more change, but she and mum were right, it's a skill he may need in the future, he deserves the chance to be proud of something and it definitely doesn't hurt that this is something I can give him. Not a townie.


End file.
